The CONCACAF Gold Cup is over for Canada. But the learnings will continue.
Canada, reduced to 10 men when winger Jacob Shaffelburg was sent off in first-half stoppage time, stumbled in the first knockout round Sunday, beaten 6-5 in a penalty shootout by No. 106 Guatemala after the quarterfinal finished knotted at 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Tied 5-5 after six rounds of the shootout, 19-year-old Canadian defender Luc de Fougerolles hit the crossbar. Jose Morales stepped up and beat Dayne St. Clair to send Guatemala into the semifinal.
Promise David, Daniel Jebbison, Derek Cornelius, Mathieu Choiniere and Nathan Saliba scored for No. 30 Canada in the shootout. Kenderson Navarro stopped Cyle Larin.
Oscar Santis, Nicola Samayoa, Aaron Herrera, Darwin Lom and Pedro Altan also scored for Guatemala in the shootout.
WATCH | Short-handed Canada exits Gold Cup after shootout loss to Guatemala:
Canada falls to Guatemala in penalties at Gold Cup quarterfinals
Guatemala captain Jose Pinto had a chance to win it in the fifth round after Larin’s spot kick was saved but sent his penalty over the bar.
Guatemala will play either the 16th-ranked U.S. or No. 54 Costa Rica in Wednesday’s semifinal at Energizer Park in St. Louis. The Americans and Costa Ricans met in the nightcap of Sunday’s doubleheader at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.
Leading 1-0, Canada was in control of the contest until Shaffelburg saw red after getting two yellow cards nine minutes apart.
“Obviously I feel for Jacob but he’s got to learn from that and the team does, too. It’s important for us to learn from this, because I think we lost because we beat ourselves and we can’t do that in important matches and we certainly can’t do that next summer [at the World Cup],” said Canadian coach Jesse Marsch.
“We’ve made a lot of progress since I’ve been the national team coach and I really like this group and I really believe in them,” he added. “But we have to find a way now to make sure we’re at our best in the toughest games and in the toughest moments. And we’re going to figure that out. And I promise you we will learn from this and we will move forward.”
Canada came into the game with a 10-2-2 all-time record against Guatemala and was unbeaten in the previous five meetings (4-0-1), dating back to a 2-0 loss in August 2004 in World Cup qualifying in Burnaby, B.C. The teams played to a scoreless draw the last time they met, in group play at the 2023 Gold Cup.
“This victory tastes great,” Guatemala coach Luis Fernando Tena, speaking through an interpreter, said after his team reached the semifinals for the first time since 1996. “We know that we are conveying a lot of happiness to our fellow countrymen and women. We are exhausted but excited.”
Canada’s record under Marsch now stands at 9-4-8 with four of those draws resulting in penalty shootouts. Canada has lost three of those shootouts, beating Venezuela and losing to Uruguay on spot kicks at last summer’s Copa America and losing to Ivory Coast at the recent Canadian Shield Tournament in Toronto.
De Fougerolles, a novice at spot kicks, was also denied from the penalty spot against Ivory Coast.
The Gold Cup represents the final competitive test for Canada ahead of the 2026 World Cup. As co-host, Canada is already qualified so will have to content itself with friendlies the rest of the way.
The Canadian men also fell short at the CONCACAF Nations League Finals in March, losing 2-0 to Mexico in the semifinal.
Leading 1-0 via a 30th-minute Jonathan David penalty, Canada was reduced to 10 men when Shaffelburg was shown a second yellow card for bodying Stheven Robeles to the ground. He picked up the first caution in the 40th minute for taking down CF Montreal’s Olger Escobar.
Marsch did not think the first yellow was warranted but had no complaints with the second.
The Canadians did not sit back in the second half, coming forward when not absorbing the pressure of Guatemala hunting for an equalizer. But Rubio Rubin tied it for Guatemala in the 69th minute with a stylish header off a Santis cross to cap off a well-constructed attack.
Rubin took advantage of a few feet separation from Cornelius on the play.
While there was none of the over-the-top physicality shown by El Salvador in Canada’s final Group B game, there was no shortage of niggle Sunday, be it an extra shove or ball kicked at a downed Canadian player. And the emotional temperature rose in a frenetic second half.
Jonathan David went down repeatedly in the second half, receiving treatment twice.
Defending champion Mexico, ranked 17th in the world, faces No. 75 Honduras in the other semifinal Wednesday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Jonathan David, who had a penalty saved the previous game against El Salvador, made no mistake this time. He found the corner of the goal for his 36th goal in 67 appearances, adding to his Canadian men’s scoring record.
It was his second goal in as many games at the tournament and his Canada-leading eighth, along with three assists, in eight career Gold Cup games.
Marsch made two changes to his starting 11 with St. Clair, who played the first two games before giving way to Max Crepeau, returning in goal and Oluwaseyi replacing Promise David up front.
WATCH | Canada blanks El Salvador to top Group B at Gold Cup:
Canada shuts down El Salvador, wins Group B at Gold Cup
Navarro started in goal for Guatemala in place of the injured Nicho Hagen, a backup with the Columbus Crew, and did well, commanding his penalty box and initiating Guatemala attacks with savvy ball distribution.
Canada had 59 per cent possession in the first half and had a 4-3 edge in shots (2-2 in shots on target) and 7-2 in corners. The field tilted in the second half with Guatemala finishing with 57.7 per cent possession and outshooting Canada 11-5 (3-2 in shots on target).
Canada defeated Honduras 6-0, tied No. 90 Curacao 1-1 and dispatched No. 81 El Salvador 2-0 to win Group B. Guatemala finished runner-up to No. 33 Panama in Group C, beating No. 63 Jamaica 1-0 and unranked Guadeloupe 3-2 and losing 1-0 to Panama.
Canada was missing the injured Alphonso Davies, Moise Bombito and Sam Adekugbe at the Gold Cup with Jonathan Osorio and Ali Ahmed having to leave the tournament early due to injuries. Influential midfielder Stephen Eustaquio was away at the FIFA Club World Cup with FC Porto.
